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"THE iNFiiUEHGE OF WASHINGTON" 



ADDRESS 

V 

BEFORE THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF BERKS 

BY 

RICHMOND L. JONES, Esq. 



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^THE iNFIiUEKCE OF WflSHlKGTOH." 



AN ADDRESS 

DELIVERED BEFORE THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF BERKS COUNTY, PA., 

JANUARY 9, 1900. 

By RICHMOND L. JONES, Esq. 



The close of a century, like the close 
of a life, musters to the memory the 
things comprehended within its range. 
From away down the dim vista of the 
past, we see events returning with the 
quickness of thought and marching by, 
in such swift i-eview, that a moment 
of contemplation may encompass the 
deeds of a hundred years. 

The illustrious dead are raised, and, 
as on a mimic stage, their parts are 
played over again for the edification of 
our thougkt. How wonderful and mys- 
terious is thought, intangible, invisible, 
incomprehensible, — yet so potent and 
substantial that it writes its story upon 
the countenance of every mind wherein 
it lodges. Joyous or distressing, noble 
or ignoble, honest or deceitful, how 
quickly the face proclaims the thought. 
And not for the moment, but it draws 
its lines and plows its furrows until 
the character of the man is as plainly 
told upon his countenance as if it were 
illumined by letters of gold, or scarred 
by the branding iron. 

Thought is the only thing we know in 



nature that is imperishable, that never 
dies, that can be given away and yet 
retained, that is diffusive without 
limit and yet without impairing its 
substance. It pleases the fancy of the 
child, nerves the strong man's arm and 
rules the world. It is love, pity, 
charity, the mother of all the graces. 
Its range is endless in past and future 
and its power is limited, in this world, 
only by the feeble instrumentalities, in 
the form of men, through whom its de- 
crees are executed. Is thought a pro- 
duct of the human brain? Who ever 
forged or threshod out of his brain a 
thought? What patient study, ample 
learning or mathematical science ever 
created an idea? None at all. Thought 
is not evolved, it is imbibed. Ideas 
come to men in dreaming or waking, 
and the best of them often come to un- 
tutored minds. They are what we call 
wisdom as opposed to learning, for the 
learned are not always wise and often 
deform and disfigure good thoughts in 
molding them into practical rules and 
regulations. 



Thought is of the divine essence and 
is infused into the minds of men in 
greater or less degree as the Providence 
that rules the world appoints them to 
do His bidding. 

• • • 

There is perchance no such thing as 
individual thought, but only expression. 
If the phenomenon does not originate 
in the mind, if the brain is only an in- 
strument played upon by thought, then 
the mystery is less involved and its 
manifestations are more readily com- 
prehended. It has been said men think 
in platoons, but that is diminutive, for 
we know a thought or an idea possesses 
whole nations and races of men, con- 
trols their actions and regulates their 
conduct. We know that whole nations 
have been moved by some great im- 
pulse to migrate, and that the seeming 
or apparent cause affords no justifica- 
tion for the movement. 

• « • 

"We know that the greatest upheavals 
and revolutions of mankind, which in 
the retrospect we clearly see were pro- 
cesses of evolution, designed to accom- 
plish great results, were begun for 
trifling reasons, altogether dispropor- 
tioned to the violence or magnitude of 
the remedy, and leading generally to 
consequences altogether unexpected 
and misunderstood. 

* * * 

Such, indeed, was the case of our own 
revolution. A new world was discov- 
ered, a hundred seeming causes, such 
as religious persecution, thirst for gold, 
love of adventure, escape from military 
service and the like, peopled the new 
continent with a heterogeneous lot of 
colonies, with no interests in common, 
but jealous of and hostile to each other, 
and with all their sympathies and rem- 
iniscences beyond their immediate bor- 
der, flowing along the lines which tied 
them to their old homes beyond the 
sea. Their rugged lives, many hard- 
ships, sufferings and privations, from 
the rigor of the climate and constant 
warfare with the native savages, their 
moral sentiments and discipline like 



unto that of the Israelites under Moses 
in the desert, refined them as in a 
crucible and raised up a generation of 
Spartans ready for God's great pur- 
poses. 

• • a 

And what then? In the fulness of 
time, great England, the land of the 
free, which for a thousand years had 
fought the fight and won the battle 
against prerogative and the abuse of 
power, was prompted to a seiies of 
petty annoyances, indignities and 
trifling oppressions, which whipped tnd 
spurred the colonies into a common line 
of resistance; but when this culminated 
in a clash of arms, there was still no 
'bought of separation from the mother 
country or of the establishment of a 
new nation — so little did men compre- 
hend the thought that impelled them 
or the great part that they were to play 
in the world's history. 

* * • 

We see it now, not as the plan of 
men but as part of the design of a 
great Providence, as the operation of a 
great thought that was sifting through 
the sluggish minds of men, by which 
they were impelled but not enligiitened 
to a degree of comprehension. 

• * • 

Even after more than a year of war, 
when the men of '76 came to the con- 
sideration and finally to the Declai"a- 
tion of Independence, they did not un- 
derstand the importance of the great 
parts they played, and were content 
with the recitation of a few little 
grievances as a justification for re- 
nouncing their allegiance to the King 
and proclaiming that a baker's dozen of' 
little colonies were free and independ- 
ent states; — a consummation not de- 
voutly to be wished of itself (as fully 
appeared after the war"> without that 
more perfect union established by the 
Constitution more than ten years there- 
after, whereby the little states were 
combined and consolidated into a Na- 
tion. This consummation was our 
obvious destiny, but it was revealed to 
the actors by steps. The thought 
played upon the minds of men, but only 



the finer clay responded clearly to its 
touch. The patriots of that day were 
thrilled by its inspiration and offered 
their lives, their fortunes and their 
sacred honor as sacriflces for the cause, 
but they Icnew little of the cause. They 
saw the beginning but had no concep- 
tion of the end. Could they have seen 
the unfolding of the design, the reward 
of their sufferings and sacrifices would 
have been sublime. If -their imagina- 
tions could have pictured the transfor- 
mation scene of a hundred years, a na- 
tion of 80,000,000 people, embracing the 
continent from ocean to ocean, from the 
lakes to the gulf, and expanding to the 
frozen North upon the one hand and to 
the sun-kissed tropics on the other; not 
only free in itself, but happy in the 
consciousness of having freed the 
world — how it would have stirred their 
souls and compensated their sacrifices. 
* * * 

There was one man from whose vis- 
ion the curtain seemed in some measure 
withdrawn — he saw as through a glass, 
darkly, but his conduct could not have 
been so fitting and appropriate to an 
end unseen, without an inspiration. He 
was a chosen instrument to release the 
world from its bondage, to set mankind 
upon a higher plane, to accomplish a 
revolution not simply of the govern- 
ment of the American colonies, bvit of 
the ideas which obtained in the govern- 
ment of all the civilized nations of the 
earth — and that man was the great 
f^eorge Washington. He was the cloud 
by day and the pillar of fire by night, 
which inspired the patriot legions in 
battle, revived and encouraged their 
drooping spirits in privation and suffer- 
ing. He was the soul and body of the 
cause. When he drew his sword at 
Cambridge he thrilled the patriots with 
hope, when, after a succession of re- 
verses that broke the hearts of the 
sturdiest and filled their minds with 
despair almost to the point of yielding, 
he rpkindled the fires of enthusiasm by 
his daring and valorous achievement at 
Trenton. He shared the privations of 
his soldiers at Valley Forge, upheld the 
trembling hands of the Continental 



Congress, restored, by his example, the 
faltering courage of the statesmen and 
soldiers about him, and finally encom- 
passed the defeat and surrender of the 
Brithish army at Yorktown and brought 
his haughty and powerful adversary to 
the acknowledgment of the independ- 
ence of the States. So much for his 
military career. A great victory by 
his valor over a great power in arms, 
but as great a victory, by his steadfast 
courage and the influence of his noble 
example, over his 'open and covert ene- 
mies and Ms fainthearted and falter- 
ing associates at home. With all this, 
however, it is said, that without the 
chance of the French alliance, engen- 
dered not by love of the colonies or 
their cause, but by the envy, hatred 
and malice borne toward England by 
the French, the cause would have been 
lost and the history of the world would 
have been written on different lines; 
but the sequel proves that there was no 
chance, and philosophy vindicated its 
teaching, that in all the universe every 
movement is design. 

"All nature is but art, unknown to 

thee; 
"All chance, direction which thou 

canst not see. 
All discord, harmony not understood, 
All partial evil, universal good." 

• • • 

Recurririg to the theme of pervading 
thought,'in the light of the events of the 
past century — it is clear that the thought 
and impulse of the American revolution 
and the succeeding French revolution, 
were kindred, and were not local but 
universal, were parts of a general 
scheme and purpose affecting all man- 
kind, and that the great events of the 
century have been only successive de- 
velopments of the same great thought, 
not born of men but of the Providence 
that rules mankind. 

* * * 

The military career of Washington, 
however, was but the beginning of his 
great work. The colonies had become 
free and independent states, but the 
extreme pressure that had united them 
for a common defense, being with- 
drawn, the process of disintegration 



speedily began. The general govern^ 
ment, such as it was, was without 
power to maintain itself or to command 
respect either abroad or at home. It 
was dependent upon the states for its 
revenues and was a mere agency which 
soon fell into contempt. 
• • • 

The colonies were not homogeneous, 
their old habits returned and with 
them their old animosities. They were 
jealous of Congress and distrustful of 
each other; the confederation was a 
league without power to enforce its de- 
crees, to regulate commerce or to pro- 
tect the states against internal disorder 
or the encroachments of their neigh- 
bors. All was discord and tending to 
anarchy, and Europe awaited compla- 
cently the dissolution and disintegra- 
tion of the power that had defied and 
triumphed over the arms of England, 
and the failure of the undertaking to 
establish a republic even upon soil 
where monarch had never trod. The 
victory that had been so dearly bought 
was turning to ashes, and the fire of 
American patriotism was fading and 
chilling in the hearts of the men who 
had accomplished so much under its in- 
spiration. 

The situation was desperate. All 
that had been won seemed lost, and ex- 
cept for Washington, the protracted 
struggle of the revolution would have 
been in vain. As he was the inspira- 
tion of the revolution, so he was the 
soul of the nation. The states mis- 
trusted each other, but all the people 
trusted him, and his earnest counsel for 
the establishment of a more perfect 
union was accepted, and the convention 
for the framing of the constitution was 
assembled, with Washington as its pre- 
siding officer. The work was done and 
the instrument submitted to the states 
for their ratification, but the ratification 
was finally only obtained upon the as- 
surance and understanding that the 
first president was to be George Wash- 
ington. So great and imposing was his 
individuality: ""First in War, First in 
Peace, First in the hearts of his coun- 
trymen." 



When he entered upon his duties as 
President, he realized, as he said, "that 
he walked upon untrodden paths," 
without precedent, but not without 
finger-board to guide him, for he 
marched on with that confidence which 
comes only to him who realizes that he 
is the instrument of a great purpose, 
and who mistakes not self-reliance for 
reliance upon the spirit that inspires 

him. 

• • • 

His administration was the corner- 
stone or sheet-anchor of all that fol- 
lowed, and his great farewell address, 
when he voluntarily laid down his 
power and put off the robes of office, 
has been a guiding star not only to his 
own countrymen but to all the world. 

• • • 

The history of his life closed with the 
history of the eighteenth century, of 
which he was the greatest figure, and a 
hundred years ago his mortal re- 
mains were laid to rest at Mt, Ver- 
non, where all mankind does them 
homage and reverence. 

• * • 

But while his life belonged to the 
eighteenth century, the fruits of it 
were reaped in the nineteenth, the 
twentieth will have a greater harvest 
still, and in all future time his spirit 
will live and lead all nations to their 
best development. 

• • * 

We do not realize what a wonderful 
influence his life, or the ideas of which 
his life was an expression, have had 
upon past and are having upon current 
events. In the early history of our na- 
tion, deeming its principles local and 
circumscribed by the boundaries of the 
colonies, our statesmen were wont to 
boast of this little creation of their wis- 
dom, as "the asylum for the oppressed 
of all nations"; but a century has dem- 
onstrated their lack of comprehension 
of the schem^ — for instead of inviting 
men here to escape oppression under 
the shelter of a little state, the spirit 
behind the little state has banished op- 
pression from the face of the earth, and 
made all men free. Public opinion 
everywhere is supreme, monarchs now 



mould their decrees and shape their 
conduct to suit it. Personal liberty and 
the protection of property is the rule 
in all the civilized nations. Through- 
out the continents of Europe and Amer- 
ica, the dominions of England in India 
and Africa, and of Russia and Japan in 
Asia, personal rights are acknowledged 
and the enjoyment of life, liberty and 
the pursuit of happiness is assured at 
home, so that no man need seek an 

asylum. 

* « • 

And how came it all to pass? Have 
we vanquished the world in arms? 
Have these broad and startling results 
come of the persuasive eloquence of our 
statesmen, who have been playing upon 
one string and teaching that our great 
national aim was selfish, that we were 
not kindred with other nations and 
owed the world no duty?No, we must 
put away the conceit and vanity of at- 
tributing it to ourselves or to our ex- 
ample. The thought was universal, 
first finding expression in our patriots, 
and successively in other nations, and 
enforcing itself under various pretexts, 
through violence, bloodshed, battle and 
murder, until tranquillity has succeed- 
ed the storm in some degree and con- 
viction has settled upon the minds of 
men. The means to the end were these 
rough arguments, through which alone 
the sluggish minds of men seem to be 
persuaded. As a lancet is needed to 
get a joke into the craniums of some 
men, so artillery ig required to impress 

them with a great thought. 
« « • 

But is the work ended? No, indeed, 
though it is far on the way, and we 
must accept the responsibility of mov- 
ing along the line of our destiny and of 
performing the task assigned to our 
generation. That we do not fully com- 
prehend it, is a confession of the limi- 
tations of our vision and perceptions, a 
condition that rules our lives. As we 
do not comprehend the purpose of our 
existence here, and know not whence 
we came nor whither we are going — it 
should not rudely shock our vanity to 
say we don't know what we are doing 



or what we are doing it for. * * » 
There was a great clatter a while ago 
about a sister republic in Cuba, which 
only needed the moral support of recog- 
nition by the United States, to enable 
its patriot army to drive the Spanish 
oppressors into the sea. The flag of 
this phantom republic was everywhere 
entwined with our own, and was almost 
as familiar a sight in public ami pri- 
vate decorations. We had a Cuban 
Junta in Washington and New York, 
and the gamblers who were taking the 
bonds of this mythical republic by the 
cart load, kept up such a beating of 
tom-toms in Congress, as to become an 
intolerable nuisance, and finally, at 
their instance, we picked a quarrel with 
Spain and a great fleet and army were 
sent away to reinforce our allies. Then 
began the hunt for the Cuban army. 
We sought it along the coast in vain; 
we hired Spanish interpreters to inquire 
as to its whereabouts, and could get no 
tidings; and finally a few daring offi- 
cers volunteered to go into the interior 
and make diligent search for the 
legions whose imaginary warfare had 
been so luridly portrayed by the re- 
porters in the service of the Junta. 

a • a 

You will remember with what amaze- 
ment as well as amusement and disgust 
the country received the report of these 
officers, that there was no Cuban army, 
and that the conquest of the island 
would devolve entirely upon the Ameri- 
cans. You know the rest, viz.: that 
the conquest was made, and that a mil- 
itary government was established and 
is maintained, because the gallant 
Cubans are not fit to govern them- 
selves. I say the government we es- 
tablished is maintained, and it always 
will be maintained, for the Americans 
will not depart nor abandon the duty 
imposed upon them. It is suggested 
that when war was declared, the Con- 
gress proclaimed by resolution that 
we had no intent to possess the island 
for ourselves, which was true, and we 
all know how that declaration came to 
pass. There was a frantic effort to 
have the republic recognized, because 



that would have given value to the 
bonds, and failing in that, the frierfJF 
of the Junta procured the declaration 
of purpose. It was not a stipulation 
nor a treaty, for it was addressed to no 
one and influenced no one's conduct. 



* There was no Cuban Republic and 
upon that discovery the Cuban flags 
disappeared. They wei-e silently with- 
drawn by the American people and Old 
Glory stands alone, which is significant 
of the common purpose and sentiment. 

• * « 

We are in Cuba as well as in the 
Philippines and Porto Rica, and to as- 
sume that we are there because of the 
grotesque masquerading of the Cuban 
Republic or because of any other set of 
curious chances, would be to confess a 
lack of comprehension. 

We walked blindly into a new sphere, 
without expecting to espouse these new 
responsibilities, but looking backward 
we see clearly that our steps were 
guided and directed, and our duty is 
plain. 

* * • 

Our young nation had scarcely 
caught its breath before it began to as- 
sume the responsibility of territory ac- 
quired. The history of the nation has 
been the history of its expansion, and 
now that it has become one of the great 
pow-ers of the world, the duty is upon 
it to work out its destiny along the 
lines so plainly indicated. 
* * * 

Those lines of activity are manifested 
among the living nations all over the 
world. One great thought inspires 
them all for they are proceeding with 
one accord. We were first in develop- 
ing the interior of our continent by 
spanning it with railroads from sea to 
sea. Russia follows in awakening the 
echoes of interior Asia by a railroad 
from the Baltic to the Pacific, and Eng- 
land opens the dark continent of Africa, 
the only terra incognita of our day, by 



a line from Cairo to the Cape. These 
great developments which are to enrich 
thf, world of the twentieth century, are 
oiiiy possible by union and combina- 
tion. The great powers of the earth 
must divide its surface among them. 
Commerce will not tolerate the hin- 
drance of petty nations as obstructions 
in its path. Their uses have gone, as 
have the tribal and other divisions of 
man suited to a pastoral age. All 
things are upon a grander scale.. Na- 
tions deal with continents now as they 
used to do with valleys and peninsulas, 
and great developments for the benefit 
of mankind can only be executed by a 

single hand. 

• • • 

The little nations . everywhere are 
simply disturbers of the peace and must 
be absorbed for their own welfare as 
well as for the common weal. When 
this shall have been accomplished, 
then the system of arbitration, inaug- 
urated at The Hague will find its con- 
summation. The world will be at 
peace, the condition of mankind amel- 
iorated and improved, and the great 
thought which has impelled men to a 
common purpose and driven them step 
by step without their knowledge or 
against their will, w^ill have been com- 
prehended by a more general intelli- 
gence and larger experience, added to 
the advantage of looking backward. 

• • • 

That it was revealed to the immortal 
Washington, his life and character at- 
test, and all the nations of the world 

acknowledge. 

• • • 

Lord Brougham's tribute expresses 
the sense of mankind. He said "It will 
be the duty of the historian and the 
sage of all nations to let no occasion 
pass of commemorating this illustrious 
man, and until time shall be no more, 
will a test of the progress which our 
race has made in wisdom and virtue be 
derived from the veneration paid to the 
immortal name of Washington." 



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